


Mai Tai (Offer You a Drink?)

by wakandan_wardog



Series: Wardog's Tony Stark Bingo 2018 [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Recovering, California Boys, Gen, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), POV Outsider, Tony Stark Bingo 2018, beach bums
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 14:45:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14875761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wakandan_wardog/pseuds/wakandan_wardog
Summary: Stella Sanchez is working at her family's bar one Tuesday afternoon when a somber man wanders in. Though it's a bit early she offers him a drink, and when he doesn't know what he likes she makes him a deal: Stella will mix the drinks, Jamie will trade stories. It seems like a pretty good deal, really.Prompt FillTony Stark Bingo CardS1: writing format: outsider POV





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rinnwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinnwrites/gifts).



> To the ever-so-glorious maevee, who has jumped into this latest pool of madness with me (possibly without floaties). Darling! I'm excited for this Beach Bum 'verse of ours and I'm so glad it's happening!

Estelle Sanchez -Stella, to most- has been back home from college for a week the first time she takes a weekday afternoon shift at her family’s beachside bar. She likes it better than working at the restaurant that takes up the other half of the building, especially since it’s a Tuesday which should mean all is quiet. Technically, quiet Tuesdays are precisely why it’s usually Nico’s night to watch and work. Still, Nico had plans and Stella doesn’t mind the extra tips, so she’d traded the shift with her cousin and waved him out the door. Her Mama and sister can handle the restaurant, especially with her brother and uncle manning the kitchen. Besides, if it's quiet at the bar tonight Stella can get some extra studying in, which certainly won't do any harm. 

Not expecting much more than a chance to clean things up and refamiliarize herself with the layout, she jumps faintly at the chime of the door opening. From her place crouched down behind the bar, sorting bottles, she can’t see who it is. With a bewildered frown she glances at her wrist, checking her watch. It’s only two thirty in the afternoon, late for the lunch daiquiri crowd and early for the dinner drinkers. And again, it’s only a Tuesday.

 _‘Odd…’_ She thinks to herself, sliding more bottles into place and brushing her hands off decisively.

“Hello and welcome!” Stella calls as she reaches up to the edge of the bar and pulls herself up to a stand. 

The stranger gives a faint jerk of surprise, hesitating mid-way across the room and looking at her wide-eyed.

What she means to be a friendly glance turns into a bit of a stare. But in her defense, the man that steps in is easily the kind that gets attention wherever he goes. He’s tall and broad-shouldered, with brown hair down past his stubbled jaw and eyes the color of the ocean she can see through the windows. He’s not quite tan yet, but working on it, and though he’s dressed in a blue-gray tee and board shorts he manages to look wary and uncomfortable.

The fact that his left arm looks off is also, somewhat telling.

“Sorry about that.” She murmured shyly. “I was trying to straighten up in preparation for the evening crowd. But come on in! What can I get you? Or were you hoping for the restaurant? The main dining room is accessible through that way.”

As Stella points toward a door set into the far wall, the stranger gives a faint shake of his head. He hesitates for another moment, then slides into motion, and the dangerous, predatory gait to his walk tells her he’s military or something of the sort. Still, his hands are loose at his side and posture non-aggressive as he moves closer to the bar. “Not the restaurant but... I… I don’t know.”

"Not sure about a drink?" Stella tilts her head, noting the worry in his eyes, the faint downturn of his mouth. “Alright. What sort of things do you like?”

He ducks his head, hiding behind his curtain of hair in a way that looks like it might be reflex. “Not sure about that either. It’s… been a rough few years.”

Stella glances at his arm again, at the tense line of his shoulders, and nods to herself. She’s seen men come back from war, can understand why he’d respond that way. “Might I make a suggestion?”

He glances up, wary, but nods faintly.

“You sit at my bar.” Stella begins, gesturing open handed at the seats in front of her. “And you let me make you a drink.”

The faintest hint of a smile quirks up the corner of his mouth as he arches an eyebrow, but obediently slides onto a bar stool. “Alright, sounds simple so far.”

“The tough part.” Stella held up a cautioning finger. “You ready for it?”

It’s an all out smile now, white teeth and blue eyes gleaming bright. He folds his arms on the edge of the bar, nodding firmly. “Lay it on me, Doll.”

“You tell me what you think of it, honestly, when you’re through.” Stella folded her own arms over her chest, giving him a stern look. “And if you don’t like it, you talk about what you didn’t like, so we can figure out what your drink is.”

“Gonna get me all squared away today?” He challenged.

“I’m a bartender, not a miracle worker.” Stella sniped back, smiling when he barked a laugh at her. “We’re gonna get you started today, _Gringo_ , but you’ll probably have to visit at least a time or two.”

“Well.” He drawled. “That just sounds _awful_ , but you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Good.” She grinned. “You stay here, I’m ducking back to the kitchen to get some fresh fruit. And while we’re at it, I’m Stella. None of that doll business.”

“James.” He retorts, offering a hand. “Or _Gringo_ , I guess.”

“James sounds awfully stuffy.” Stella murmured, doubt in her tone as she catches his hand. “What else you got?”

“Uh…” He blinks, looking baffled. “Umm, Jamie, I guess?”

“Jamie I can work with.” She gives a decisive nod and shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you, Jamie. I’m Stella, your bartender for the afternoon.”

“Hi Stella.” He grins, giving her a gentle squeeze before letting go. “Is this the start of a beautiful friendship?”

“It just might be.” She laughs. “It just might be.”

*


	2. Chapter 2

Thirty minutes later, Jamie is working through his second Pina Colada and Stella has graduated to sitting on her own barstool as she tells stories of growing up in and out of her family’s restaurant and bar. He’s relaxed enough that he laughs softly as she explains about a bet with her cousin Nico when they were both seven. It’s one of her favorites, since it involved Stella challenging Nico that he couldn’t bite into and hold a lemon wedge in his mouth for five minutes, but if he did it would win him five dollars.

“You’re robbing the kid.” He pointed out, his grin wide. “A dollar a minute? Harsh.”

“Maybe so, he did hate the things. When we finally called time, he took it out of his mouth and drooled everywhere.” She rolled her eyes. “The silence was nice while it lasted, but in the end he won five dollars and was outrageously smug about it.”

“Quality entertainment.” Jamie grinned.

“It is when you’re a kid and the adults keep talking out on the patio for hours on end.” Stella shrugged, idly spinning her empty glass. “What about you? Any relatives to make stupid bets with?”

“Naw.” Jamie murmured, soft and a little sad as he fidgets with his pineapple slice and tiny umbrella. “Fell outta touch with my family, what with the war and all. Used to do stuff like that to my best friend, but he and I ain’t talkin’ much either.”

“That’s too bad.” She murmured sympathetically. “What brings you out to California, then?”

“Got a friend with a place out here, he said I needed a vacation.” Jamie seems to go a bit pink at this, and Stella arches a brow and leans forward in that _‘I’m listening’_ kind of way that makes him laugh. “We worked pretty hard in New York, and didn’t seem to be making much progress… So my pal says ‘ya know what? I’ve got a place out in Malibu’, and the next thing I know here I am.”

“Some friend.” Stella whistled, impressed. “He always like that?”

“Oh yeah, always. Big gestures, a lot.” Jamie barked a laugh. “Tons of flash and bang. Took me a bit to figure out there was more to him than that… he puts on a pretty good front, when he wants to. It’s a shame though, lotta people missin’ out on just how great he is.”

Stella smiled faintly as she watched him visibly soften, looking all too fond as he sipped at his drink. “But you know better.”

“Yeah. The big gesture was Malibu, for sure… But the small stuff, that’s been pretty much everyday ever since. He’s great-”

“There you are!” A strange voice shouted as the door snapped open, the chimes jangling harshly as the door flew wide and both Stella and Jamie spun to face the new arrival.  

The speaker was a brunet man who came spilling into the bar, his skin dark in a way that bespoke a Mediterranean heritage and dark hair fluffy and wild from the wind. He was dressed in an outrageously bright Hawaiian shirt, a cheerful shade of hibiscus orange patterned with little blue sharks, his boardshorts a similar shade of blue. His sunglasses were tinted a similar orange shade obscuring his eyes, face clean shaven, plush lips curled in a broad grin as white teeth flashed in the tan of his face.

Stella scanned him and sighed sharply, lifting a hand to her chest. “I think he gave me a heart attack.”

“He ain’t that bad lookin’.” Jamie teased softly. “Tho’ I do sorta’ miss the facial hair.”

He looks familiar, but Stella can’t quite place him. “I’ll take your word for it. He always enter rooms like that?”

“Like I said, flash and bang.” Jamie sighed, tension bleeding out of him as he melted back onto his barstool. “Jesus, Tones. Scared the hell outta me, Doll.”

“Don’t you get me started on scaring, Buckaroo!” ‘Tones’ replied, whipping his shades up to rest on his dark hair and revealing sparkling brown eyes. “You left me standing in the middle of the boardwalk. In the middle of the boardwalk! I turned around and you had vanished. Vanished! I couldn’t get ice cream or taffy or anything, had to come find you. And what do I find?”

He stopped, glancing over at Stella and lifting his eyebrows. “You’re sweet talking someone else, hmm? Bring you out to Cali to try and keep you all to myself, and this is what I get. Are you at least going to introduce us?”

“Stella here has been pretty good to me.” Jamie grinned, winking at Stella and shrugging carelessly at his friend. “Not sure she’s done anything to deserve having to deal with you, Tony. I mean, she’s much better company than you, and mixes a hell of a Pina Colada.”

Tony halted, folding his arms over his chest and frowning. “That’s rude, Buck. Rude and _hurtful_. I am hurt.”

Stella grinned, glancing back and forth between the two.  “So this is the friend.”

Tony perked immediately, catching on to her unspoken _‘the one you told me about’_ with a wide grin. Stella had to admit, it was pretty cute.

“Yeah… This is him.” Jamie sighed, giving her a shrug and a weak smile before he glances back across the room. “Well quit sulking and get over here already, Doll, or don’tcha wanna make friends?”

“Unbelievable.” Tony grumbled, shooting his friend a pouty look and then crossing the room to stand within reach. He leaned into Jamie’s side automatically, but his attention was focused on Stella with a mock-sorrowful expression. “I’m sorry you’ve been subjected to him, he’s usually charmingly quiet.”

Unable to help herself, Stella laughed. “Quiet, huh? Maybe it’s the company.”

“Jerk.” Jamie scoffed, gently elbowing him. “Tony, my new favorite bartender Stella. Stella? My friend Tony.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” Tony beamed widely, offering a hand to shake.

“Likewise.” Stella smiled, returning the handshake with a curious look. “Jamie’s been telling stories, though he’s clearly left out how he earned the nickname ‘Buck’. I feel like I need to hear it, and I’m not above bribery. Can I get you something?”

“Oh, I like her.” Tony grinned, wide and wicked. “You know what? You’ve got a deal. I’ll have a pina colada, since it looks like he’s due for a refill.”

“A round of pina colada and a possibly-trashy story, coming up.” Stella winked, already somewhat fond of this stranger that had come tumbling into her bar. “Pull up a barstool.”

Over her shoulder, she could hear them whispering. 

“Yeah, I definitely like her.” Tony beamed, shouldering Bucky gently as he climbed onto his seat.

“Yeah…” Bucky grinned, shouldering him back. “Me too.”

*

“Alright.” Tony sighed, glancing at his watch as Bucky polished off the last of his pina colada. “We’ve probably taken up far too much of your time.”

Stella sighed, glancing at her own watch and making a face. “Yeah, whatever dinner-time drinkers we get will be heading in soon. I should get a few things done before they turn up.”

“Thanks for the drink, Stella.” Jamie -Bucky?- grinned as he stood. “We’ll come back and see ya, if that’s alright?”

“Sure thing.” Stella grinned at him and Tony. “Thursday through Saturday, usually.”

“Sounds good.” Tony smiled, but glanced around the otherwise empty bar in what looked like concern. “You got backup coming in?”

“Eh, family is just through the wall.” Stella smiled, flapping a hand as she grabbed a glass and pitcher and turned to tote them to the sink. “I’ll be fine, you boys have a good night now, alright? Come back soon.”

“Sure thing.” Tony murmured with a salute. “Until next time.”

Stella rolled her eyes and continued her clean up. “My Mama warned me about men like you, trouble all the way. Still, you better be back soon.”

Tony grinned and slid his sunglasses back on with a flourish. “Cross my heart.”

“ ‘Till next time.” Jamie echoed from the door.

From the kitchen Stella listened to the chimes echo as they exited, drawing to a halt when she stepped back into the room to wipe down the counter. There was a neat stack of bills there, a couple of tens to cover their round of drinks, and several twenties. Reaching out to fan the bills out on the gleaming hardwood surface, Stella glanced up to the door to watch a sleek silver Audi peel out of the parking lot. Maybe it was the car, or the hint of a personalized license plate illuminated by the bar lights.

**STARK6.**

Suddenly she realized exactly who the man was, and why he seemed so familiar. Tony Stark was pretty notable, but hard to place without his iconic goatee.

“ _Dios_.” Stella gaped, counting up her tips in shock. “I just spent half the afternoon with Iron Man.”

 _Huh_... She grinned. Wasn’t Nico going to be upset?

Not bad, for a Tuesday.


End file.
